New magazine looks at local music scene

DANBURY - Pete Walrath said there's only so many times you can go to Stamford to hit on girls in bars.

"People will eventually get sick of going to the Thirsty Turtle. Although it's probably a great place to pick up chicks, if you want something cool, it's probably not the place to go," he said.

Danbury, meanwhile, has an eclectic, almost manic music scene - one finally featured in all its glory in "Hat City Entertainment," the new monthly magazine founded by Walrath and Sean Morits of Bethel.

"It's a wacky town," Walrath said. "The nightlife and culture here is a lot less homogenous than say, the nightlife in Stamford."

Lots of stuff happens in Danbury, especially with the recent arrivals of the Danbury Trashers hockey team and Premiere Music Hall, a club that has been booking major acts such as Static X and Shooter Jennings.

"Places like that can help make (Danbury) a destination, a place where someone might travel 30 miles to see what's going on," Walrath said. "I think the scene here was already a destination, but a lot of people just don't know it."

Hat City Entertainment aims to change that.

The 19-page debut issue came out earlier this month. It featured a cover story previewing thrash metal band Static X's concert at Premiere Music Hall on Delay Street.

The issue had friendly write-ups promoting open mike nights at Cousin Larry's on Elm Street and the opening of Premiere, along with a quick feature on Western Connecticut State University's radio station.

That simply isn't the vibe the new magazine is going for, Morits said.

It's not that Morits and Walrath have beefs with local musicians. Heck, Walrath is a graduate of WestConn's music program and organized Danbury's annual Gasball Festival for a decade.

It's just that Morits believes the new magazine must appeal to more than local scenesters - and local bars - to survive.

"We are not a garage band gazette. That's not what were going for," Walrath said.

"We're a publishing company," Morits said.

Morits said the second issue, due out Jan. 13, shows more of what Hat City Entertainment hopes to become.

The second issue will include a cover story on the Danbury Trashers, along with an article on "restaurants that rock." There will be more listings about what's happening in museums. Danbury writer Bruce Wingate will write an article on the history of the local music scene.

Morits and Walrath have known each other for about a decade. Morits used to book bands for the former Colorado Brewery. Walrath did the same for the former Hat City Ale House.

Booking bands in Danbury is a bit cutthroat. It's a relatively small scene with a bunch of bars. "Talent buyers" get territorial. Yet Walrath and Morits were always friendly with each other.

They formed a company to book acts for The Monkey Bar on Ives Street, along with four other venues.

The new magazine was launched as a way to raise money for "The Hat City Music Festival" a three-day concert scheduled for June.

The last Gasball, an alternative rock festival formerly held each year on the Danbury Green, was last year.

Walrath, 32, said he just didn't have the time to put together the event each year. He's hoping the "Hat City Music Festival" will fill the void left by the Gasball's demise.

Larry Stramiello, the owner of Cousin Larry's, said the new magazine is good for downtown Danbury.

"The magazine shows what's going on downtown. We need to focus on that," Stramiello said. "There are some really good musicians out there. Now they have places to play."
Contact Eugene Driscoll